Air conditioning apparatus



Feb. 29, 1944. A. H. EBERHART AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 21, 1941 A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fla. 2. INVENTOR ARTHUR Missmmzr wnusssss:

ATTOR Y 9, 1944- A. H. EBERHART 2,343,122

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 21, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ARTHUR H.EBEZRHRRT.

BY m

ATTORNZO/ Patented Feb. 29,1944

UNlTED STATES, PATTENT OFFICE" Arthur to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Applicatian November 21,1941, Serial No. 419,979

9 Claims.

This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus, more particularly to a self-contained unit air cooler for cooling a room.

- One object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus' of the character set forth.

and a discharge opening 8 in the top encloses the portion of the air cooler projecting into the Another object is to provide a unit air cooler.

' having an improved arrangement for controlling the air handled bythe unit.

A further object is to provide a unit air cooler having an improved arrangement for controlling the admission 01' fresh or outside air into the room.

A still further object is to provide a unit air cooler having an improved arrangement for'controlling the exhaust of airfrom the room.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, with parts broken away for the sake of illustration, of the air cooler;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the arrangement for controlling the air handled by the unit;

Fig. 5 is a. view of the same arrangement as seen along line V-V of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view, similar to Fig. 5, showing the manual control arrangement in position to admit outside or fresh air to the room;

Fig. 7 is a view, similar to Fig. 5, showing the manual control arrangement positioned to exhaust air from the room; and

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the control knob and a portion of the outside cabinet.

. room.

"The basemember II is formed with an upstanding flange l3- extending about the periphery thereof to retain the moisture condensed from the air. A vertical partition I4 is secured to the Referring to the drawings in detail, the refer- I ence character l0 indicates a unit air c'ooler adapted to be mounted, as shown in Fig. 3, in a window of the room to be cooled. It extends horizontally, the front portion projecting into the room and the rear portion projecting exteriorly of the room. 7 1

The air cooler includes a refrigerating system of the compression type,'the parts of which are mounted on a combined base and drain pan II and which form therewith a removable refrigerating unit. The refrigerating unit is adapted to be slid horizontally into a mounting structure l2 which is fastened in the window and which forms a housing for the air cooler, which housing is open at the front and the back. A wooden cabinet 6 having an inlet opening 1 in the front ,They are overhung on the shaft of anelectric base member II and forms a division between a cooling compartment, l5 and an apparatus compartment l5, which compartments are formed by the base member H, the mounting structure I! and the verticalpartition I4.

The refrigerating system includes an evaporator l8 which may comprise a conventional crossfinned coil. The evaporator is disposed in the upper right-hand portion of the cooling compartment l5, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The

evaporator. may be mounted in any suitable.

manner, for example, it may be provided with brackets. l9 attached to the partition M. The evaporator is enclosed in a wall structure which includes a front wall 2| and. end walls 22, the partition I constituting a rear wall. This wall structure provides a vertical passage through which air flows upwardly in contact with the surfaces of the evaporator. The top wall of the mounting structure I2 is provided with a discharge opening 23 disposed directly above .and

centrally bf the evaporator air passage, as is shown in Fig. 3. The discharge opening 8 in the wooden cabinet 6 is disposed directly above and centrally of the discharge opening 23. A suitable grill 25 may be positioned in the opening 8.

The refrigerating system further includes a motor-compressor unit 26 which is preferably of the enclosed type comprising a compressor, a motor for driving the compressor and a fluidtight casing enclosing both the compressor and the motor. It is disposed in'the apparatus compartment l6 and mounted on the base member II. A condenser 21, preferably of the conventional cross-finned type, is disposed in th apparatus compartment along the back and is also mounted on the base member II. The refrigerating system further includes parts for conmeeting the evaporator, the motor-compressor unit and the condenser in a complete refrigerant circuit, as is shown and described in the copending application of John'L. Ditzler and Richard E. Holmes for Air conditioning apparatus, Serial No. 384,000, filed March l8, 1941.

A centrifugal fan 33 and a propeller-type fan 34 are provided for effecting'flow of air through the evaporator and the condenser, respectively.

motor 35 disposed in the apparatus compartment on the left-hand side of the unit, as shown in Fig. 1, with the shaft extending horizontally from the front to the back and with the front end of the shaft projecting through the partition ll into the cooling compartment l5. The fan 33 is disposed in a casing 31 which has its outlet disposed on the lower side, as shown in Fig. 2, and connected to the inlet portion of the evaporator air passage. The motor 35 is mounted on a platform 38 which is supported on the pan II. This platform is defined by a rear wall 33 and a pair of side walls 55 and a top wall 42, which together with the pan II, provide a horizontal air conduit, the front end of which connects with an opening 4| in the partition ll.

To provide for bringing fresh or outside air into the room for ventilating, an opening 43 is provided in that portion of thepan H which cooperates with the platform 38 to form the air conduit just previously described. A suitable filter 44 is' positioned over this opening and a damper or closure member 45 is provided for opening and closing the opening 43 or otherwise controlling the amount of air admittedthrough the same. The damper or closure member 55 is pivotally mounted adjacent the opening 43 by means. of hinges which are attached to a flange struck up around the opening 43, and when in closed position, it is held flat against the filter M by gravity.

To provide for exhaust of room air through the air cooler, the partition I4 is rovided with an opening 50, located between the fan 33 and the evaporator, which is controlled by a pivoted damper or closure This damper or closure is held in closed position by a coil spring 52.

Means for controlling the dampers l5 and 5| include a rod 53 which extends along the front edge of the pan II and is mounted thereon by brackets 54 which are fastened to the flange l3. As seen from Fig. 1, this rod projects through the wooden cabinet 5 at the left-hand side thereof and a knob 55 for rotating the same is mounted thereon. A pointer 55 is provided on the knob 55 to indicate the position to which it is set. The rod 53 has a pulley 51 thereon which is connected to the damper or closure member 55 by a beaded chain 58 and a bracket 59. A second pulley 55 is carried by the rod and this pulley is connected to the damper 5| by a beaded chain 52. A collar 54 is carried on the rod 53 and has a pin 55 projecting therefrom. The function of this pin is to abut the bracket 54 and prevent complete rotation of the rod 53 that might wind the beaded chains 58 and 52 around their respective pulleys, and possibly break the same. This control means is so designed that in no position of the knob 55 will both of the dampers 45 and 5| be in open position.

-As seen from Fig. 8, a portion of the cabinet 5 adjacent the knob 55 has indicia thereon. The control means just described is so correlated that when the pointer 55 on the knob 551s opposite the letter N" on the cabinet 5, both of the dampers or closure members 45 and 5| are closed.

When the knob is rotated until pointer 55 is opposite the letter "V," the chain 58 is wound exhaust damper or closure member 5| open and the chain 58 is slack so that the fresh air damper or closure member is held closed by gravity, as is seen in Fig. 7.

Operation The refrigerating system operates in the usual manner of such apparatus. Refrigerant vapor is compressed by the motor-compressor unit 25 and circulated through the refrigerator circuit. It is condensed in the condenser 21. Its pressure is reduced by suitable expansionvalve means and it is vaporized in the evaporator l8, thereby extracting heat from the air circulated over the outer surfaces of the evaporator by the fan 33.

When it is desired to cool the air in the room, without bringing in any fresh air or exhausting any air from the room, the pointer 55 on the knob 55 is set opposite the letter N" on the cabinet 5. The motor 35 is energized to drive the fans 33 and 34. The fan 33 causes room air to enter through the inlet 1 in the wooden cabinet and to flow to the inlet of the fan 33. The air is discharged horizontally from the lower portion of the fan 33 into the lower inlet portion of the evaporator air passage. It then flows upwardly through the latter in contact with the outer surfaces of the evaporator. It then flows through the discharge opening 23 and upwardly from the unit air cooler.

To provide for bringing outside or fresh air into the room for mixing with the room air, the control knob 55 is rotated to the right, as seen in Fig. 8, until the pointer 55 is opposite the letter V on the cabinet 5. In this position of the knob 55, the exhaust opening 58 is closed and the outside or fresh air opening 43 is open, as seen in Fig. 6. Fresh air is then brought into the room as follows: The air enters through the opening 43 and is drawn by the fan 33 through the conduit provided by the motor platform 38, through the opening 4|, and under the fan casing 31 to the front thereof where it enters the fan 33 and is thoroughly mixed with the room air brought into the fan casing, as just previously described. The mixture of room air and outside air is then forced over the surfaces of the evaporator and discharged through the opening 23 upwardly from the unit air cooler into the room.

To provide for exhaust of air from the room, the knob 55 is rotated to the left, as seen in Fig. 8, until the pointer 55 is opposite the letter E on the cabinet 5. In this position of the knob, the fresh air inlet 53 is closed and the exhaust opening 50 is open, as seen in Fig. '7. Room air is then exhausted as follms: The air enters through the inlet 1 in the wooden cabinet and flows through the fan 33 to the inlet portion of the evaporator air passage. It then flows through the opening 55 into the compartment l5 and the suction side of the fan 34, and from the latter it is discharged through the left-hand portion of the condenserll.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with thedrawings it is seen that the present invention provides an improved unit air cooler embodying an improved arrangement for con- 7 trolling both the fresh air admitted to the room 7 and the air exhausted from the room.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious .to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of, various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be. placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims. v d\ What I claim is: 1 I

1-. In a self-contained room cooler, the combination of a housing havin a partition dividing the same into an apparatus compartment and a cooling compartment, the cooling compartment having an inlet and an outlet communicating with the room, a fan in said (cooling compartment for effecting flow of air from the inlet to the outlet thereof, an evaporator disposed in the cooling compartment in the path of the air stream and on the downstream side of the fan, means at a point between the fan and the evaporator providing for exhaust of air from the room, means providing communication between the outside of the roomand the upstream side of said fan to permit fresh air to be brought into the room, and manually operable control means, said control means being adapted in one position to permit the exhaust of air from the room-and prevent admission of fresh air to the room, and in a second position to admit fresh air to the room and prevent exhaust of air from the room. 7

2. In a self-contained room cooler, the com-s bination of a housing having a partition divid-" constructed that in one position of said manually [operable member both said fresh air damper. or i closure: member and said exhaust damper or closure member are closed, in a second position said fresh air damper or closure member is closed and said exhaust damper or closure member is open to permit exhaust or air from the room, and in a third position said exhaust damper or closure member is closed and said inlet damper or closure member is open to permit fresh air to be brought into the room.

4. In a self-contained room cooler, the combination of a housing having a partition dividing the same into an apparatus compartment and a cooling compartment, the cooling compartment having an inlet and an outlet communicating with the room, a fan in said cooling compartment v for effecting flow of air from the inlet to the outoutside atmosphere and through which fresh air ing the same into an apparatus compartment and the room, and manually operable control means,

said control means being adapted in one position to permit recirculation of the room air without exhausting room air or bringing in fresh air from outside the room, in a second position to permit the exhaust of air from the room and prevent the admission of fresh air to the room, and in a third position to permit the admission of fresh-air to the room and prevent the exhaust 0 air from the room. i 3. In a self-contained room cooler, the combination of a housing having a partition dividing the same into an apparatus-compartment and a cooling compartment, the cooling compartment having an inlet and an outlet communicating is brought into the room, a damper or closure member pivoted adjacent said opening, a manually rotatable control member exteriorly of said housing, flexible means connecting said controlmember to both said exhaust damper or closure and said fresh air damper or,closure, said' rotatable member and said flexible connectors being so constructed andarranged thatwhen said rotatable member is rotated in one direction said exvent the entrance of fresh air, and when rotated vent the exhaust of air from the room.

5. In a self-contained room cooler, the combination of a housing having a partition dividing the same into an apparatus compartment and a cooling compartment, the cooling compartment having an inlet and an outlet communicating with the room, a fan in saidv cooling compartment for effecting flow of air from the inlet to outlet thereof, and an evaporator disposed in the cooling com- .partment in the path of the air stream and on with the room, a fan in said cooling compartment for effecting flow of air from the inlet to theoutlet thereof, an evaporator disposed in the cooling compartment in the path of the air stream and on the downstream side of thec'fan, said partition having an opening therein at a point between the fan and the evaporator and providing for exhaust of air from the room, a damper or closure memfresh air is admitted to the room, a damper or a closure member pivoted adjacent said fresh air opening, means for conducting the fresh air adthe downstream side of the fan, said partition having an exhaust opening thereinvbetween the fan and the evaporator through-which air is exhausted from the room, a damper or closure member pivoted adjacent said exhaust opening, "said housing having an opening therein communicatflexible member connecting said exhaust damper member is rotated in one direction said connector between the exhaust damper or closure member is wound around said member and opens said exhaust opening and said connector between said fresh air damper, or closure member will unwind from around said member and permit said fresh air damper or closure member to close the fresh air opening, and when rotated in the opposite direction said connector between the fresh air damper or closure will windaround said member and open said fresh air opening and said connector between said exhaust damper or closure will unwind and permit said exhaust damper or closure to close said exhaust opening.

'7. A unit room cooler comprising a cooling element, means providing fiow of a stream of air" from the room into the unit, in contact with said cooling element, and then from the unit into the room, the unit having an outdoor air inlet for admitting air from outdoors to said air stream and an outlet for exhausting air from said stream, first and second dampers controlling said inlet and said outlet respectively, said dampers being biased to closed position, and means for operating said dampers comprising a rotatable rod having an element for rotating the same, a connection between said rod and the first damper for opening the latter upon rotation of the shaft in one direction from a neutral point, said connection permitting the rod to rotate in the opposite direction from said neutral point without opening said first damper, and a connection between the rod and the second damper for opening the latter upon rotation of the shaft in said opposite direction from the neutral point, said last-mentioned connection permitting the rod to rotate in said one direction without opening said second damper.

8. A self-contained unit room cooler compris- 7 compartments for effecting flow of a stream of air from the inlet to the outlet thereof, an evaporator and a condenser disposed in the cooling compartment and the apparatus compartment. respectively, in the path of the air stream therein, the unit having anoutdoor air inlet for admitting air from outside to said room air stream and having an outlet for exhausting air from the room, first and second dampers for controlling said last-mentioned inlet and said last-mentioned outlet, respectively, a manually operable control member, and means connecting said manually operable control member to bolt said first and second dampers and operable to close both dampers in one position of said member, to open the first damper and to close the second damper in a second position of said member, and to open said second damper and close said first damperin a third position of said member, the room cooler being constructed and arranged so that flow of both of said air streams may take place concurrently in each position of said contro member. 9. A unit room cooler comprising a cooling element, means providing fiow of a stream of air from the room into the unit, in contact with said cooling element, and then from the unit into the room, the unit having an outdoor air inlet for admitting air from outdoors to said air stream and an outlet for exhausting air from the room, first and second dampers controlling said inlet and said outlet, respectively, said dampers being biased to closed position, and means for operating said dampers comprising a rotatable rod having an element for rotating the same, and first and second flexible members connecting said first and second dampers, respectively, to said shaft in such manner that, when said shaft is in one position, both of said dampers are closed, when the shaft is rotated in one direction from said one position, said first flexible member is wound around the shaft and opens the first damper and the second flexible member unwinds from around the shaft to permit the second damper to re-,

main closed, and when the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction from said one position the second flexible member is wound around the shaft and opens the second damper and the first fiexible member unwinds from around the shaft and permits the first damper to remain closed.

ARTHUR H. EBERHART. 

